Firefly: The Unification War – Volume 2
No matter your side in the Whedon scandal, it’s a good time to pick up a Firefly comic. This volume of the Unification War series followed four storylines, including Zoe fighting her past, Mal being captured by Boss Moon, flashbacks to the Unification War, and the gang trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Although bouncing around did feel a bit disjointed, Greg Pak was able to create suspense points. This kept me motivated to go back to each storyline.
By: Boom! Studios
Written By: Greg Pak
Illustrated By: Dan McDaid
Colors By: Marcelo Costa
Letters By: Jim Campbell
Release Date: December 17, 2019
This volume could all be broken down into loyalties of love and loss and how one goes about showing it. However, we find that there is honor amongst thieves. The Serenity crew are not saints and never have been. They are trying to survive on the opposing side of a totalitarian regime, which means doing what you need to do.
I loved how the colors in this series could bounce me from present to past with the flip of a page. McDaid and Costa really thought about how complicated the lines would be. They added the red ambiance to denote the history and the Unification War and the terror and devastation.
Beware – Spoilers ahead!
Zoe and Mal are no strangers to doing what needs to be done as we see more PTSD flashbacks that give us more of the story. Loyalties can lead good men to do bad things, and when things get messy, sometimes there are no good decisions. You still must choose.
I was glad to get a little more of Boss Moon’s story. We all know that there are good and bad guys on both sides. Everyone is the hero of their own story, and Boss Moon is no exception, keeping the “bad guy” trope at bay for now. We get to explore more of her history and motivations.
There is another history that I’m excited to learn more about, and that is Book’s. Book is the holy man, but as it’s been said, good men don’t need so many rules. What was his place in the Unification War, and what did he either do or allow to happen before taking his current path?
Zoe’s own place in the Unification War must plague her
Romance proved to weigh heavily in this series. Zoe and Wash have a love of a lifetime when they aren’t shooting each other to prove it. The Doc is clearly at odds with the fact that a new someone has captured Kaylee’s attention and is unable to keep his mind on his own business. Inara is worried for Mal and stuck in the middle of Wash trying to save Zoe and River trying to save Wash.
Wash also has an ideal of who Zoe is, which Zoe can never actually live up to. She has her own history in the Unification War that plagues her dreams, and he can never know her like that. He can never know her shame. She didn’t even think when taking up with the “troops,” believing the end justifies the means – seeing a way out and not fully considering the consequences. Tis the Firefly way.
But now, they must all pay the consequences. I’m thoroughly looking forward to reading Volume 3 of this series. It has been so nice to get my Firefly fix without reliving the same few stories from the original series.